Friday Content Roundup: Trumped Up Cats, Robot Dinosaur Concierges and Pizza Trees

Posted on July 17, 2015 in Blog

This is the Friday Content Roundup, where we’re bringing you an inside look into the fun/interesting/sometimes-useful content we found on the Internet this week.

Welcome to the roundup, homies!

You know, in terms of actual job duties here at Oneupweb—this weekly blog unfortunately ranks dead last on my list of priorities. But, in terms of job satisfaction here at Oneupweb—this blog is one of the reasons that keeps me in the seat.

Where else can I attempt to make connections between haunted houses in upstate New York, bankrupt European countries and old ad content of lore (while sometimes sprinkling in some marketing-related material)? Where else can I offer you, general Internet audience, the chance to see the kinds of content that pique our interests here (thereby giving you more of a rounded look at the smorgasbord of personality and characteristics of our tried-and-true digital marketers)?

Only here guys. Seriously. (Okay, that’s a stretch—you could get more or less the same kind of thing by following our social channels, but let’s not split hairs).

Instead—let’s get started.

Who Needs a Hug? A Note on Amazon Prime Day

Amazon’s Prime Day kicked off to great fanfare and corporate bigwigs inside are heralding it as a massive success. The e-commerce titan claims to have sold more units than the biggest Black Friday ever and had more new members sign up for a Prime membership than any single day in Amazon history.

Which is weird…considering what the rest of the Internet has to say about it. From the CNET article linked above:

Amazon’s tallies Thursday stand in contrast to a rash of comments on social media from customers complaining about a lack of in-demand deals on Prime Day or many items selling out too quickly.

Not to mention ridiculous waitlists on some rather silly items. For a taste of what constituted a lack of “in-demand deals”, here’s a Mashable article listing the weirdest deals of Amazon Prime Day. They include a 5 lb. resealable bag of red hot candies (yours for the measly Prime-member-only price of $13.59), beard growthers, lip enhancers, giant shoehorns and so much Tupperware (so. much. Tupperware).

The #PrimeDayFail hashtag became a trending topic and in the fallout, the Internet is abuzz in many things Prime Day Fail. Here are some reactions from Twitter users:

It sounds to me like they all need a collective group hug right now. But don’t fret people– here’s VP Greg Greeley with some reassurance: “After yesterday’s results, we’ll definitely be doing this again.” Everything’s going to be alright, guys.

We’ve Found Your Next Convention Destination

And it involves animatronic raptor robots. Behold, a Real Hotel Staffed by Talking Androids and Robotic D inosaurs (via Gizmodo):

The Henn na Hotel (translated to “Weird Hotel”) is entirely staffed by robotics. We’re talking dinosaur concierges (see above), “cloak robots” that pick up and store your luggage, and even porter bots.

There is literally only one downside to this: it only exists in a Japanese amusement park. But maybe if you ask him reeal nicely, Charles Williams, one of our genius programmers and the one who sent this my way this week, can figure out a way transport us there.

In the meantime—have you ever wondered what you can do with the hair you pull out of your pet brush? Wonder no more and awe at the ability to:

#TrumpYourCat =^>~<^= (<– squinting emoticon of a cat that’s been Trumpified, btw)

Trump ’16 is this summer’s iteration of that feeling you get after stepping into a freshly-spat, terribly sticky piece of chewing gum wearing your brand new sandals. It’s deeply frustrating and it refuses to go away.

Here to make it all more bearable, are Trumped up cats. (Brought to you this week by Teighlor Bodrie, one of our uber-busy and incredibly talented account managers). Witness the miracle of a cat wearing a Trump toupee:

This is an example of why the Internet matters, people! Imagine a world sans Internet where the veritable blowhard Donald can act in his questionably Donald ways and we would be left without any kind of meaningful recourse. Trump Your Cat is peace protest at its finest (or should I dare say Felinest? seewhatididthere). Plus—it’s not limited to cats and it’s super easy. Per Donald Purrump, proprietor of the Instagram profile TrumpYourCat, just follow these simply steps:

1. Brush your pet

2. Form the hair you brushed into a toupee

3. Place toupee on pet’s head.

Bingo, bango done!

New Horizons Proves Pluto Has a Heart

This week, New Horizons soared past Pluto, giving humanity the closest look its ever had at this distant world (a world that will always be a planet in my heart, because that’s what my science textbooks told me it was when I was in school). Thank you Ed Kaufmann for sharing!

The Internet rejoiced and it’s safe to say Pluto became everyone’s favorite planet/non-planet in the solar system. Bennubird even made a heartwarming gif based on the event that soon went viral:

For space cadets everywhere, this will be a “Where were you when” moment to last a lifetime. Speaking of those…

Where Were You When Campbell’s Was Pushing Soup on the Rocks?

Paid media specialist and mayoral candidate for the newly dubbed “Bobo Town” section of our new office space, Dan Hanson shared Advertising Age’s 13 Classics From Adland’s Golden Years. Dan’ favorite on the list is a VW ad for its 1969 station wagon (third from the bottom of the list). My personal favorite is an ad for Coldene that perfectly sums up parenting in the 1960’s:

That’s literally the extent of it. Just imagine the above, but on a sea of black the size of a magazine page.

Other favorites include an ad for Metrecal, a nutritional supplement. The ad is an unappetizing shot of a plate full of the Pepto-Bismal-Pink Metrecal that required rational to be placed right above it (“About this picture: Our photographer said, ‘Since Metrecal’s a complete meal, let’s shoot it like one.’” This was a mistake). And a Campbell’s ad for beef broth on the rocks (no joke—Dan and I are equally mystified by this one).

Let’s let that linger and move on to our final content share of the week and ask:

What If Pizza Grew On Trees?

American Heart Association teamed up with comedian Nick Offerman for a hilariously satirical look at a few “healthy food options.” This share comes courtesy of our resident health-conscious, hot-dog-sneaking account manager, Dave Waeltz.

“Acres of pizza, kissed by the sun, and stretching as far as the eye can see,” orchards of taquitos, fields of hot, moist sloppy joes and bushels of freshly picked fish sticks all fall under the umbrella of the ultimate message: “Because our kids’ health shouldn’t be a laughing matter.”